Lesson 1

I remember exactly when it happened. I was sitting on a couch watching an old re-run of Alfred Hitchcock with your grandmother. A roommate came home to find his other roommate frozen in bed because he found a snake in his bed and was afraid he'd be bitten if he moved. 30 minutes later, the character leaped from the bed and found no snake. He left, and the roommate sat down on the bed, and was promptly bitten and killed by the snake, who had been hiding in the sheets. Ever since then, I've been deathly afraid of snakes. So afraid, I won't go out into the yard at night unless it is lit up, I won't swim in a lake (something I loved doing when I was younger,) and I won't go near bushes and shrubs unless I can see under them. This is your first lesson.


Never let a fear keep you from doing something you enjoy.I'm not talking about jumping out of a plane because you fear it (which by the way, no.) I'm talking about those little fears that will creep up on you as you get older and learn that not every animal is cute and cuddly, or that every person you meet isn't a character from Sesame Street. Fears are sometimes a good thing, they tell your gut that something might not be a good idea, but you never change your life to avoid something you're afraid of. I know I'm not a good role model in that department, but in my defense, snakes are evil. ;)